Cancer survivor commits to an organic life

A healthy diet has always been important to Lori Allison. But it wasn’t until she was diagnosed with breast cancer — nearly two years ago — that she decided to make a lifestyle change.

“If my immune system was built to fight disease, what compromised that entity from doing its job?” said Allison.

“That’s what drove me.”

By Scott Pukos, staff writer

MPNnow

By Scott Pukos, staff writer

Posted Aug. 25, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 25, 2011 at 12:19 PM

By Scott Pukos, staff writer

Posted Aug. 25, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 25, 2011 at 12:19 PM

MPNnow.com

A healthy diet has always been important to Lori Allison. But it wasn’t until she was diagnosed with breast cancer — nearly two years ago — that she decided to make a lifestyle change.

“If my immune system was built to fight disease, what compromised that entity from doing its job?” said Allison.

“That’s what drove me.”

Allison — who lives with her husband, John, and children, Moriah, 15, and Jonathan, 12, in Canandaigua — said

it drove her to a “drastic” lifestyle change that focused on a consumption of organic, all-natural products. Her first step, she said, was to research ways to achieve her goals and eliminate those outside elements that she said were putting her at risk.

“I don’t pretend to have gained all I need to know,” she said. “I read, read, read all the time to stay current with studies, trends, new learnings, and as a result, I learn something new every day.”

John, her husband of 26 years, said the research didn’t come from “fly-by-night websites” either, but instead from credible research papers. Her research expanded to social networking platforms like Facebook, too. This helped her converse with people in similar situations, and also helped the spread of knowledge, something that Allison said is very important to her.

A vital part of her revised diet was to eliminate sugar from her dietary equation. Knocking out the sugar was just one part of what she calls “clean living,” eliminating the consumption of processed and manufactured foods.

“For me, that means, very little is purchased from the ‘left side’ of my food market,” Allison said, referring to the ‘right side’ as the organic side of the supermarket. “I focus my energies on whole foods, with a high concentration of fresh fruits and vegetables, and organic as much as possible.”

She added that this means she consumes only organic, grass-fed meats — “very little red meat,” she said — and little to no dairy. She said she also focuses on foods that boost the immune system and are “known cancer fighters.”

She keeps a similar regimen for beverages — she juices her own fruits and vegetables — and, of course, drinks a lot of water, too. In an attempt to straighten her immune system, Allison also supplements her diet with Vitamin D and fish oil capsules — also used to increase joint strength, she said.

Aside from the lifestyle changes, Allison made a few big medical choices as well, primarily deciding to decline chemotherapy. She instead accepted a prescribed year’s treatment of Herceptin — a breast cancer drug treatment. She said her oncologist, Dr. Michelle Shayne from the Strong Breast Care Clinic, played a large part in her recovery, and was open to helping her conduct her research.

“She has an indomitable spirit,” John said. “At no time, she asked ‘why me?’”

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Allison went for Herceptin infusions every three weeks for a year, concluding in December, and she is now cancer-free.

“Cancer is like diabetes — it needs to be managed every day,” Allison said. “I am committed to keeping my terrain as healthy as possible so that it remains an anti-promoter of disease.”

Coconut power

While Allison carefully examines the list of ingredients of food and beverages, she also carefully checks the labels of anything that goes on, or in, her body.

“Skin is our largest organ,” said Allison. “We concentrate so much on what we put in our body; we should also look at what we put on our bodies.”

She strictly uses toxic-free and all-natural skin care products and cosmetics. One of her favorite products is coconut, especially the coconut’s oil — and she gets plenty of use out of it.

“Coconut is true super food,” Allison said. “It has so many applications, and it really is Mother Nature’s secret weapon for great skin and hydration.”

She added that aside from using it on her skin — as a natural sunscreen — she also uses coconut on her hair and teeth, for deodorant, for cooking and even as a special ingredient in her fruit and vegetable smoothies.

Even cleaning the house is now an organic-styled chore for Allison.

“I’ve rid our household of toxic cleaners, from dish detergent to surface and glass cleaners, as well as laundry detergents, bleachers, softeners,” she said.

Allison has also put a heavy emphasis on the physical aspect of being healthy. She exercises six to seven days a week, including running, walking, yoga and strength training.

Organic costs

One problem people may face when trying to go organic: Cost. In most instances, organic food and supplies are more expensive. But there are ways to circumvent this problem and economize when buying organically.

According to The Associated Press, fruits and vegetables with tougher peels are often less likely to carry traces of pesticides. These include papayas, mangoes, bananas, kiwi, cantaloupe, avocado, eggplant, watermelon, grapefruit, onions, corn, cabbage and pineapple, among others. On the other end of the spectrum, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, apples, spinach, celery, pears, bell peppers, cherries, potatoes, carrots, lettuce and grapes tend to have high pesticide levels.

“Organic vegetables taste better,” said Erin Bullock, owner of Mud Creek Farms in Victor. “Organic farmers have to care about the health of the soil more.”

Mud Creek is a 15-acre farm that cultivates over 50 different organic vegetables and one fruit (watermelon). Bullock said prices could conceivably decrease eventually, but it would require more people switching to organic practices.

“I think as more people buy organic, the price will go down,” Bullock said. “Right now, it’s kind of a niche market.”

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It is, however, a niche market that seems to be growing, said Jeanne Colleluori, a spokeswoman for Wegmans.

“It used to be, organic products were significantly higher in price,” Colleluori said. “As time went by, that changed.”

Colleluori said the price of organic products depends largely on the specific product and the demand of that product. For example, because of demand, organic baby carrots and traditional baby-cut carrots were priced the same. As a result, Wegmans now only offers the organic baby cut carrots.

Wegmans is Allison’s go-to spot for her organic supplies, specifically the Nature’s Marketplace section of the store, which has more than just organic food. Colleluori said it also offers clothing made from organic materials.

This includes baby clothing — specifically one-piece pajamas called rompers — made with organic cotton. Wegmans also has an organic farm on West Lake Road in Canandaigua that produces zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and some eggs for select stores in the area, said Stency Wegman, who teaches classes at the farm.

For Allison, the costs of organic products is justified. Paying more to improve her health with the sometimes pricier organic goods will have long-term benefits that other, less natural options will not have, she noted.